KENDLETON — The students at Powell Point Elementary report to the school gym before 8 a.m. for their morning exercises.

That's what Principal Mildred West calls the daily routine, which doesn't involve jumping jacks or touching toes. Instead, West, part coach, part cheerleader, leads the children in a mental pep rally.

"What's our goal?" she asks.

"First time!" they answer.

By that, the students mean they will pass the state-mandated TAKS exams in reading, writing, math and science on their first attempt.

The pressure could not be greater at this tiny school, the lone campus in the Kendleton Independent School District. Only half the students passed some parts of the test during the last school year.

Test scores at Powell Point have lagged for so long that the Texas education commissioner could shut down the school — and, thus, the district — if performance falls short again this year. Kendleton's 70 elementary students likely would be bused to a neighboring district.

Residents of this small town 50 miles outside Houston worry the death of the district would destroy any chance that Kendleton (population 466) could one day bustle with businesses and young families.

Today, the Fort Bend County town is home to a post office, a lumber mill, a few churches, a single restaurant that opened in July and acres of farmland that, in the 1860s, plantation owner William E. Kendall sold to freed slaves. Powell Point, which dates back to 1904, is among the oldest historically black schools in Texas.

"If we lose the school, we lose our identity," said restaurant owner Richard Battle, who graduated from Powell Point in 1958, when it still served junior high and high school students.

Since 1985, the older Kendleton students have traveled about 40 miles round-trip to schools in the Lamar consolidated district in Rosenberg.

Fewer pupils, fewer dollars

The story of Powell Point and Kendleton, of a small school in a small town struggling to survive, especially in these tough economic times, is played out across Texas. While most of the tiny districts have managed to pass the state's academic test, they are fighting to stay financially viable. Districts earn state funding based on their number of students, so fewer children means fewer dollars.

"What we can't allow to happen is for kids to not get the basic education they need," said state Rep. John Zerwas, a Republican who represents Kendleton. "If that means we need to move the kids for a period of time until the Kendleton economic base can grow and sustain itself better, they may need to seriously consider that option."

Texas is home to 1,030 independent school districts this year, and 169 have only one school. Almost half the districts in Texas have three or fewer campuses.

The topic of consolidating schools is generally taboo in the Legislature.

Many districts, though, have combined or closed over the years, and the Texas Education Agency has shut down two troubled districts.

'A beautiful scenario'

Texas started the independent district system in 1875, allowing cities to set up schools, and the number of ISDs has shrunk from 1,060 in 1990.

Eissler, R-The Woodlands, said combining districts makes economic sense — businesses with duplicated services combine all the time — but he acknowledges that schools can be the souls of communities, especially in rural areas.

"As far as the small schools go, I think it's a beautiful scenario because it allows our little town to elect seven people that are well-known and trusted to govern the school," said Donald Rhodes, the new superintendent of Brazoria County's Damon ISD, which has one school, and a former superintendent in Chester ISD, which has two.

Still, ask Rhodes how small districts survive financially and he says, "One day at a time." Damon ISD plans to ask voters to approve a 13-cent property tax rate hike in November.

Under the state's school funding system, Rhodes predicts, "All of these small schools, we're going to end up exhausting our resources."

Kendleton ISD has a budget of about $1 million and plans to nearly drain its $200,000 savings account to pay the bills, said West, who serves as superintendent of the district and also as principal of its school.

"I'm my own secretary," added West, whose annual salary is $80,000.

Enrollment drop

Enrollment in Powell Point dropped from 100 students last year to 70 this year, including 19 in pre-kindergarten. The next-largest class is sixth grade, with 10 students.

About half the children are black, half are Hispanic, and nearly all come from poor families. The median household income in Kendleton is $21,562.

West estimates that a quarter of her students are being raised by grandparents or foster parents. Senior citizens or others who can't find work take in foster children partially to get reimbursed by the state, said Marjorie Adams, president of the Kendleton Historical Society.

"But they're doing a good job," Adams said. "Our ministers in the area insist on them bringing those children to Sunday school."

West, whose own parents lacked a high school education, took the job in Kendleton in 2006. When a headhunter approached her, West was working for a ministry in the Fort Worth area, taking a break from three decades in public schools.

Kendleton ISD and Powell Point had earned the state's "academically unacceptable" rating for two straight years when West arrived.

After her first year — and another "unacceptable" rating — a state-appointed monitor, Mauro Serrano, recommended that West hire a new teaching staff. Some of the old teachers refused even to write daily lesson plans, he noted.

West had to offer jobs to a dozen teachers before one agreed to come to the remote town along U.S. 59 for the $35,000 starting salary. Most of the teachers had no experience, but the school board approved about $50,000 for on-site training.

Four years in a row

Since West landed at the school, tests scores are up dramatically in most subjects. In science the passing rate increased from 17 percent in 2006 to 50 percent in 2008.

Still, the school fell short of the acceptable standard in reading. Twenty-two of the 32 students tested needed to pass. Only 16 did, making Kendleton the only district in Texas with four straight years of unacceptable ratings.

Under threat of closure this year, West; her 16 employees; along with Kendleton's newly elected mayor, Darryl Humphrey, are optimistic about the school and the city.

The Kansas City Southern railroad company and CenterPoint Properties are planning a 636-acre industrial park just outside Kendleton, which could bring 1,000 to 2,000 jobs to the area — and perhaps young parents interested in nearby homes and schools.

Recently, Humphrey, his wife and his 4-year-old daughter pulled weeds outside an abandoned building across from the three-room City Hall. The 45-year-old mayor says he has visions of the city needing its own high school some day.

Down the road at Powell Point, fourth-grader Lupita Duran exudes confidence about her school's future. "I'm thinking," she said, "that I'm going to pass the first time."